Leaked Galaxy Note press shot shows US redesign and AT&T branding

Just before the New Year, Samsung announced it had shipped 1 million Galaxy Note devices, and that this figure would see another increase when it finally launched in the USA this year. With no official word on when this would be, all we could do was wait and hope for confirmation at CES 2012.

With less than ten days until CES kicks off, a new leaked press shot suggests that not only is it being prepared for an appearance there, but that the previous rumors surrounding the supporting network were correct.

AT&T had already been linked to the Note, and sure enough, their branding sits proudly above its screen in the picture. The Note will also differ slightly to the existing international versions in appearance, and will fall in-line with AT&T’s other Samsung smartphones by altering the controls below the screen too.

Galaxy Notes sold elsewhere in the world have a hardware “home” button, flanked by capacitive “menu” and “back” keys beneath the screen. However AT&T’s Note –along with their Galaxy S II — will have the hardware button replaced by two capacitive buttons, “home” and “search” instead. This set of four command keys will be familiar to many Android users.

This alteration does strip the Note of some character, but obviously maintains a uniform style for AT&T’s range. It has also previously been speculated that the change is important to distance the Galaxy’s look from that of the Apple iPhone.

A potential feature list was also supplied to SamMobile, and it’s possible the US Note will have an NFC chip inside, ready for any future wireless payment systems the carrier may introduce.

The CES 2012 show officially starts on January 10, but Samsung has a press conference scheduled for 2pm on January 9.